THIS WEEK: The Washington State University men's and women's cross country teams will start the season at the Clash of the Inland Northwest meet this Saturday...the meet will be held at Mead High in north Spokane with Eastern Washington hosting the event...the Cougars will be competing against teams from Eastern Washington, Idaho and Gonzaga...women's 4,000m race begins at 10 a.m. and the men's 6,000m race begins at 10:30 a.m....results will be available on the official WSU Athletic website, wsucougars.com when available.

LEADING THE WAY: First-year Cougar coach Pete Julian came to Washington State in August 2009 after a highly successful coaching stint at Metro State in Denver...while not able to recruit for this fall season, Julian takes over an experienced men's team and a young and talented women's team...senior captains are Lisa Egami and Sam Ahlbeck...volunteer assistant coach this season is Tim Riley.

COUGAR WOMEN: The 2009 women's squad is led by seniors Lisa Egami (Coquitlam, B.C.), Chelsea VanDeBrake (Yakima), and Marisa Sandoval (Los Alamos, NM), junior Amanda Andrews (Gig Harbor), and sophomores Emily Farrar (Bainbridge Island) and Michelly Foley (Prineville, Ore.)...three freshmen, Alyssa Andrews (Gig Harbor), Caroline Austin (Chehalis) and Courtney Zalud (Colbert), will have an impact on the team as the season progresses and as they adapt to the collegiate level of training.

COUGAR MEN: The men's 2009 team has ten returning letterwinners, six of whom were consistent scorers last season, as well as a cadre of redshirt freshmen and two incoming freshmen who will help contribute...Sam Ahlbeck (Renton), Mark Moeller (Spokane), and Dominic Smargiassi (Auburn) provide senior leadership...juniors Dan Geib (Reno) and David Hickerson (Spokane), along with sophomores Justin Englund (Federal Way) and Jono Lafler (Maple Valley) bring solid experience to the team...freshmen Andrew Gonzalez (Kennewick) and Andrew Kimpel (Spokane) join the WSU harriers after very successful and experienced prep careers.

JULIAN'S TAKE ON THE CLASH MEET: "This is an opportunity for our athletes to get a feel again for cross country. They spent a lot of the year between indoor and outdoor track to being on the oval, so this Saturday really is just about getting back on the grass and on the mud and gravel."